For Most Desserts:"...Boreiy minei mezonot" (Who creates various types of foods)

For Fruits: "...Boreiy pree ha'etz" (Who creates the fruit of the trees)

For Vegetables: "...Boreiy pree ha'adamah" (Who creates the fruits of the ground)

For Drinks, Meat, Fish, Cheese: "...Shehakol Nihyah bidvaro" (Everything was created through His words)

General Rules for the First Bracha

One must say a Bracha on ANY amount of food.

You should see the food before reciting the Bracha, e.g. if one wants to eat a cashew, you first open up the shell and see if its fit for a Bracha (no worms etc.).

You should hold the food/drink in your right hand, or left hand if you are a lefty.

One must be very careful not to mention G-D's name in vain. Before you start saying the Bracha, you should know which Bracha is the appropriate one.

No food or drink should be in your mouth while reciting a Bracha.

Between the Bracha and eating you must not talk or even wait any amount of time, but eat or drink the food right away.

If you forgot to say a Bracha before eating, as long as you still have some food left you still have to say the Bracha.

General Rules for the Order of the Brachot

These are the order of the Brachot in general:

Hamotzie - on bread

Mezonot - on cakes

Hagefen - on wine

Haetz - on fruits

Haadama - on vegetables

Shehakol - on drinks etc.

Chaviv (Most Desired): When one has in front of him different types of foods but all are the same bracha - e.g. candy, soda etc - you should say the bracha on the one you desire most, that is meaning of 'Chaviv'.

Fruits of Israel: Hashem has blessed Israel with seven (7) fruits as it says: "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey (dates)".

Therefore when one has different types of fruits that he wants to eat (e.g. apples and figs), the fruit of the 7 species are first.

If however the fruit which is not of the 7 species, is Chaviv [meaning - he likes it more] then he may say a Bracha on any one he wants.

General Rules for the After Bracha

In order to be obligated to recite the Bracha Achrona (Post-Meal Benediction), two things must be taken into consideration:

Amount of Food Eaten; and,

Time Taken to Eat

Amount:For Food: For bread, cakes (Hamotzi & Mezonot) you must eat a 'Kazayit' (an Olive) in weight which comes to be 17.3 grams (0.61 ounces).For Drinks: For drinks, you must drink a "Revee'it", 86 grams (2.9 fluid ounces)

Time: The time is the same wether its food or drink. In order to be required to say the After Benediction you must eat or drink the required amount (see above) within 'Kedei Achilat Pras', a period of around 4 minutes.

For example, drinking a hot cup of cocoa, since usually you would sip it you wouldn't drink the required amount within the required amount of time (4 minutes). The best way to get out of any questions would be to drink something else like milk, or to save some of the cocoa/coffee till it gets cool enough to drink the required amount in the required time.